Tendulkar hits 6th Test double century

Bangalore: Exaclty a weeek after the miracle in Mohali, Sachin Tendulkar gave the nation another reason to celebrate as he brought up his sixth Test double hundred and his second of the year on day four of the second Test against Australia here on Tuesday.

Sachin, who had missed out on a century in the first innings of the first Test when he was dismissed for 98, was in no mood to be charitable this time around. on Monday, he brought up his 49th Test hundred to extend the gap between him and the second-placed Ricky Ponting to 10 centuries.

He would have reached the 200-run mark on Monday evening itself but for bad light that stopped play with three overs to go.

Batting on the overnight score of 191, Tendulkar brought up the landmark figure, his second against Australia, with a single off Hilfenhaus as the crowd in the Chinnaswamy Stadium went delirious with joy and gave the Master Blaster a standing ovation.

Interestingly, India have never lost a match in which Tendulkar has scored a double hundred.

Even though he has been playing for almost 21 years now, it wasn’t till 11 years ago that he brought up his first double century.

Tendulkar scored his first double hundred, 217 not out against New Zealand at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad in 1999. That match ended in a draw.

Two years later, he scored 201 no out in a drawn game against Zimbabwe at the Vidharbha Cricket Association ground in Nagpur.

In 2004 during the historic series Down Under, Tendulkar was a picture of poise, patience and perseverance as he crafted a brilliant 241 not out at the Sydney Cricket Ground. That match too ended in a draw.

In December of the same year, Tendulkar plundered Bangladesh for his fourth Test double hundred scoring 248 not out. India went on to win this game at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka.

There was gap of a little over five years before Tendulkar notched up another big one. This time he hit 203 in a drawn game against Sri Lanka at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo in July this year.